Intel shows how this button-sized chip could revolutionize live sports

Intel had one of the coolest presentations at this year's CES, when it brought BMX riders, skateboarders, and free-runners alongside its CEO Brian Krzanich on-stage for its keynote speech earlier this week.

The action-packed performance was done to showcase its new button-sized chip, Curie, which can be attached to a sports device or the athlete's body to trasnmit data about their performance.

Intel sees a future where Curie is used in all sports, for both professionals and amateurs, to enhance the entire sports consuming experience.

"With Curie, we believe we created what's going to change the world of sports," Krzanich said. "It's the start of a dramatic revolution in sports."

For example, snowboarders can mount Curie on their snowboards and see real-time data about their speed, jump level and distance, as well as the number of spins its does. TV broadcasters can display that data in real-time, and let the viewers have a more engaging experience, too.

Intel

In fact, to promote Curie, Intel has already partnered with ESPN to sponsor the upcoming Winter X Games in January, where data transmitted through Curie will be showcased on TV during live broadcasts of snowboard competitions.

"We believe we're on the cusp of a breakthrough in live sports," Krzanich said.

In an interview with USA Today, Krzanich said that he thinks Curie will be used more broadly for general training purposes for non-professional atheletes, too. For example, it could be placed in running shoes to see how hard your feet are hitting, or to find patterns in your workout that's slowing your run.

And that will lead to higher sales and open up new revenue streams for Intel, a company that's been exploring ways to deal with a shrinking PC market, where the majority of its sales have come from.

"It'll take time to grow. But we think this an emerging sector that can sells hundreds of millions of these devices---the pieces of silicon," Krzanich told USA Today.

Curie will be available in the first quarter of this year. It will be priced for less than $10, Krzanich said during his keynote.